According to the Zhito Finance APP, Anita Ramaswamy from The Information believes that for Amazon (AMZN.US), Lyft (LYFT.US) could be an attractive acquisition target that could help the e-commerce giant expand its robot taxi business and better compete with Tesla (TSLA.US) and Waymo under Alphabet (GOOGL.US).

Ramaswamy stated, "Existing ride-hailing services will enter a period of disruption. Uber Technologies is one of those companies, as it has been preparing for a future filled with self-driving taxis to score points for the company. The situation for Uber's main competitor Lyft is much worse, which makes it a prime acquisition target; I believe Amazon will acquire it."

While Lyft will certainly benefit from a partnership with Amazon, what can Amazon gain from it?

Lyft has a ride-hailing network with 24 million active users, which will be key in helping Amazon commercialize its autonomous driving ambitions. The partnership between Lyft and Zoox (which Amazon acquired in 2020) would pose a "direct and credible" threat to Waymo, while also increasing Amazon's potential to expand Zoox into the food delivery service sector.

Clearly, Amazon has subtly laid out plans for the future transportation market. Through Lyft, Amazon can not only acquire a mature service but also leverage Zoox's technological advantages to develop more efficient transportation solutions. This potential acquisition is likely to trigger a chain reaction in the future Intelligent Transportation field, as it would naturally bring about a larger disruptive impact on the market.

Lyft's stock price surged nearly 5% due to the potential merger, marking its first increase in five days.